Those fateful nine months —14th August 1947 to 14th May 1948

 

Those fateful nine months —14th August 1947 to 14th May 1948

 

Just after the end of the disastrous Second World War and the start of decolonization, on 14th August 1947, the world's first religious-based modern nation-state, Pakistan, was born. To achieve this, the ruling British had to divide India — though some say they tore or ripped it apart. Exactly nine months after this mega-event, another state was born on the basis of religion: Israel, again dividing or tearing apart Palestine this time. In those fateful nine months, these two religion-based countries were created, and the world changed.

Since their births, Israel and Pakistan have had a love-hate relationship, as both consider themselves bastions of their respective faiths. Most surveys in Pakistan report admiration with a tinge of jealousy for Israel, even among personnel of the elite and ruling institutions.

Remarkable commonalities between Pakistan and Israel

In addition to the timing of their births, the commonalities between Pakistan and Israel are striking and astonishing. To begin with, both countries are believers in Abrahamic religions — Judaism and Islam. Despite their current hostility, they have more in common than differences. These two are probably the two closest major religions the world has ever witnessed.

Both countries were created in lands controlled by the British, who were known for their finesse in implementing the divide-and-rule policy.

Historically, Jews were most comfortable living in Muslim-majority countries, and Hindus and Muslims also lived together peacefully by medieval standards for over a millennium. They were much more accommodating of each other than the Christian sects of those times.

In both places, the "other" was demonized — Muslims in Israel and Hindus in Pakistan. The use of the words "Yahood" and "Hanood" became acceptable in Pakistani media with terrible connotations, and Palestinians were given the hatred-arousing name of "terrorists" by the Israelis.

Xenophobia was effectively used as a tool to justify this divide to an unbelievable extent. The founder of Pakistan, Mr. Jinnah, warned Muslims: "If we do not succeed in our struggle for Pakistan, the very trace of Muslims and Islam will be obliterated from the face of India" (18 Jan 1942). Similarly, the Jewish leaders of Israel repeatedly used the memory of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust for their political purposes.

Both births were bloody and traumatic. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, and millions were uprooted from their homes. They still call it Nakba — a kind of Holocaust. It was even worse in Pakistan, where millions were killed brutally and tens of millions were displaced. These were very painful births.

Both have a terrible record with their minorities. Israelis routinely humiliate and harm Palestinians, whereas in Pakistan, local Christians, Ahmadis, and other minorities are also institutionally persecuted.

Religion and scriptures were used unscrupulously in both instances.

Interestingly, the founders of both nations were so committed to their causes that they were ready to sacrifice millions of their own people — not to speak of their proclaimed enemies.

Ben-Gurion said: "If I knew that it was possible to save all the children of Germany by transporting them to England, and only half by transferring them to the Land of Israel, I would choose the latter, for before us lies not only the numbers of these children but the historical reckoning of the people of Israel."

When asked about the fate of the Muslims who would be left behind in India, Jinnah stated that he was willing to "perform the last ceremony of martyrdom if necessary" by letting 20 million Muslims be sacrificed in order to liberate the 70 million coreligionists in Muslim-majority regions (Kanpur, March 30, 1941).

Surprisingly, after their creation, one of them declared itself a secular state while the other made itself practically one. Those who preached fear of the majority swiftly converted to being secular and democratic. Jinnah's famous August 11, 1947, speech envisioned a secular Pakistan where "you may belong to any religion or caste or creed… that has nothing to do with the business of the State."

Both Israel and Pakistan became nuclear-powered states and did not sign the NPT. 191 countries have signed it, and only 5 have abstained.

Since their inceptions, Israel has fought five major wars and innumerable smaller but lethal ones. It has fought against all its neighbors and many countries even farther away. Not to the same extent, but Pakistan has also fought multiple wars against its conjoined twin, India, along with multiple Afghan wars, while having tense relations with Iran. Only China, its most generous supporter, has avoided fighting Pakistan. In other words, these two states are among the most violent, involved in unending wars.

All this might not have been as detrimental, but the inculcation of hatred for those they have proclaimed as their enemies and their propensity toward violence might be the most dangerous trends.

Effects and dangers

These nine months did not just create nations; they created a template for modern religious nationalism — a template that has led the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation. In the last 35 years since the post-Cold War era, most nuclear standoffs have been among them. Talk and threats of nuclear attacks have happened many times, and the careless manner in which the use of nuclear weapons is mentioned is outright reckless and alarming.

Mutually assured destruction has become the mantra for stability among these states, but it is an extremely erratic one.

Unstable, unpredictable, and unlikely people can reach powerful positions even in countries rated as democracies, and these hate-filled, religious countries are most prone. With violent leaders at the helm in this virulent, nuclear-armed environment, a single miscalculation can be too dangerous, risking all of mankind.

The recent political instability the world is experiencing — whether it's Israel/Iran or India/Pakistan — has both these nations right in the center.

The most important lesson the creation of these ethno-religious nations has taught us is that theocracy and the modern world cannot go or survive together. It's a recipe for disaster, and on a massive scale. It must be corrected.

Suggested corrective measures

No matter how these two political states came into being, they are now a reality and must be accepted. Their places in the comity of nations must be controlled and corrected to lessen their potential for destabilization and violence. To begin with, the world must be defanged with the removal of all nuclear weapons. All ammunition with the capacity for indiscriminate killing — something we call terrorism — must be destroyed. We can start by condemning the historical use of nuclear weapons and carpet bombings, irrespective of the nationalities of the perpetrators. Anyone dropping nuclear weapons over civilians should under no circumstances be called a "near-great president."

The UN should be made into a world government of confederating states and strengthened. A universal constitution with local variations should be enforced across the whole world, controlling the greedy outlaw states and curbing their aggression and avarice. International laws should be drafted clearly and enforced mostly with the power of reason and persuasion, the most powerful tool.

Hatred and demonization of all kinds — not only anti-Semitism — are a must to create a violent frenzy that can result in extreme cruelties, and that must be curtailed. Brutal control of media, demonizing of entire peoples, and justification of occupation and violence must be strongly and collectively resisted. No one country or group should be allowed to have a monopoly on media or other consent-manufacturing tools.

The use of ancient scriptures as a real estate guide or foreign policy instrument must be snubbed. 3,000-year-old land deeds should not be allowed to supersede the rights of living, breathing human beings. The use of derogatory terms with the potential to invoke violence — like Chosen people, Amalekites, Yellow Peril — must be forcefully stamped out.

Racism of all kinds has been a source of immense suffering throughout history and must be labeled a serious crime.

The pursuit of happiness and human welfare — not religious supremacy or ethnic purity — should become the prime purpose of governance.

The current situation cannot go on forever, so let's not wait for the Armageddon some may be working hard to achieve. If the world is unable to control the violence of religion-based countries, the birth of these two nations will be remembered not as a historical turning point, but as the beginning of the end.

These are the seeds of nuclear suicide. The only corrective is to recognize that nothing — no ancient text, no historical grievance — justifies the annihilation of mankind.